


Second time's the charm

by eudaemonism



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Pre and Post Timeskip, happy birthday hilda!, rewrite of the goddess tower scenes with f!byleth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:02:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22549774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eudaemonism/pseuds/eudaemonism
Summary: Hilda visits the Goddess Tower twice, once before and once after the war. Byleth is there with her, always.
Relationships: Hilda Valentine Goneril/My Unit | Byleth
Kudos: 40





	Second time's the charm

If Hilda had to pinpoint the exact moment things had started to change, she’d say it had been during the night of the ball. The rumours about the Goddess Tower had been circulating for weeks now, and even if Hilda did not quite believe the legend itself, she didn’t want to risk binding herself to a stranger, and so she kept rejecting all the boys that had invited her to climb up the tower. 

Needless to say, she was terribly curious when she saw the Professor sneak out of the ball and move in the direction of the Tower. And it was that very same curiosity that made her chase after the older woman, wondering who on earth could have gotten the Professor to agree on a secret rendezvous during the most romantic night of the year. 

Hilda decided to wait by some bushes by the tower entrance, figuring it would be the best position to see who would enter after the Professor. However, more than ten minutes passed by without anyone even heading their way. Had Byleth been stood up? Rude! And yet, Hilda couldn’t imagine anyone ever standing the Professor up, she was one of the most beautiful women Hilda had ever seen. In any case, she figured that if the other woman had been dumped, she could use the cheering up, and if she hadn’t, well, Hilda could catch a glimpse of the lucky person that was keeping the Professor company.

She made her way up quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone that might be at the top of the tower. And yet, she heard no voices or sounds, so either Byleth’s partner was as quiet as she was, or her dear professor really had been dumped. She peeked into the final landing, and sure enough, the Professor was there alone. Hilda considered her choices: she could turn around while she was unnoticed or she could go inside and strike up a conversation. The legend said the wish would only work between an unmarried boy and girl, but Hilda figured two unmarried pretty girls would work just fine. And if there was someone she could trust enough to bind herself to, it was Byleth. So she took a step inside.

“Professor!” Byleth turned to her, seeming surprised to see her there. “You’re not waiting for anyone, right?”

Byleth shook her head. “No, I just needed to get some fresh air. Why do you ask?” So she hadn’t been dumped, which was good. Her confusion could only mean one thing, though.

“Thought so! I bet you’ve never even heard the legend about this tower then.” 

“I haven’t…”

“Well, something special happens here during the Ethereal Moon, on night of the ball!” Hilda pondered over her next words, considering the legend itself wasn’t really catering to the two of them. “First, two unmarried people need to meet at the Goddess Tower and make a vow. Then, the goddess will grant them divine protection, and ensure that their vow comes true. Or, so they say.” 

The Professor seemed pensive “Is that true?”

“Well, I’m not sure how true it is, but it’s a well-known story among the students. Some guys invited me here, but I didn’t want to risk and bind myself to them in case it’s true, y’know?” Byleth nodded, the barest hint of a smile on her lips. “I want a life partner who’s good-hearted and good looking. Anyway, when I happened upon you I thought that you’d be perfect!” Half a truth, but the Professor didn’t need to know Hilda’s first intention was to spy on her love life.

“You came here to see if I was with someone, right?” Welp, so much for that.

“Can you blame me!? You’re the prettiest woman in the monastery! Of course I wanted to see who the lucky person was.” She pouted at Byleth, who was very clearly trying to hide a smile behind her hand. “Professor! Don’t make fun of me! Anyway, I was just joking about us making a promise together. I don’t want you to feel forced to make a vow to me or anything.” 

Byleth took a step towards Hilda, her face now illuminated by the moonlight, and Hilda’s breath caught in her throat. Byleth truly was a beautiful woman, and this close proximity made Hilda’s heart start racing. Also, was she wearing makeup? Hilda wondered who had applied it, a twinge of jealousy tugging at her heart for not having done it herself. Huh, weird thing to be jealous about. 

“I don’t object to making a vow with you, Hilda.” Byleth was no longer trying to hide her smile, and Hilda found herself wondering exactly when had her professor start to become so expressive. “Perhaps we should vow to become more diligent?” So the Professor was still in the mood to tease? Well, two could play at that game!

“Professor, if you become any more diligent you’ll turn into Seteth! Seems you need some time to consider your vow. In the meanwhile, why not share a dance with yours truly?” She made sure to make her request extra sugary, and even added a wink and a little curtsy in her attempt to throw off Byleth. Her plan backfired, however, when Byleth offered her hand, looking equal parts fond and exasperated. “Professor?”

“Let’s go back to the ball. The others must be looking for us by now. And then we can share a dance.”

“Oh. Sure!” Hilda took Byleth’s hand, letting her guide her down the tower stairs, feeling uncharacteristically shy. The Golden Deer bracelet that she had made for Byleth was dangling on her wrist, and for some reason that made Hilda’s chest feel tight.

It wasn’t until the next morning that Hilda realized that they ended up forgetting about the vow, but the memories made twirling the Professor and the rest of her classmates on the dance floor were more than enough to make for a magical night. Besides, they had all promised to meet again in five years, and Hilda hoped that if the Goddess had been eavesdropping on conversations that evening, that that was the vow she heard. Maybe in five years she could get the Professor to make a new vow with her, one that wouldn’t be limited by their relationship as teacher and student.

-

In the end, it took Hilda five years and eight months to catch Byleth in the Goddess Tower again. She was daydreaming, the way she used to do so many times when Hilda was a student and would tease her for it. Not that Hilda didn’t do her fair share of spacing out. Some things managed to stay the same over the span of the war, but they were few in comparison with the ones that changed. 

Hilda approached Byleth, leaning her head against her former professor’s shoulder. “You know, all I wanted was to enjoy life, but I had to go and become diligent. And it’s entirely your fault.” Byleth seemed to be amused by this.

“Is it now?”

“Yes! After all, it was what you wished for all these years ago. Maybe the Goddess was listening to us after all?” Hilda sighed, her hand reaching for Byleth’s. “Even if she wasn’t, you always believed in me, even when I told you not to. You kept encouraging me when I failed, and always looked out for me. That’s also why I blame you for making me fall in love with you, you know.” It wasn’t her first confession, not by a long shot, but Byleth’s breath always caught whenever Hilda reminded her of this. She thought about the bracelet that was still around her partner’s wrist, even after six years and a war. It was about time Hilda gifted her a new piece of jewelry, and the handmade ring in her pocket never felt heavier. She was so busy lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice Byleth rummaging through her own pockets until she called out to her.

“Hilda?” She sounded nervous.

“Yes? Oh. Oh!” Byleth’s free hand held a beautiful silver ring, and she was offering it to Hilda. “Does this mean… What I think it means?” Byleth nodded.

“If you’ll have me.” 

“If I’ll have you? Of course I’ll have you!” Hilda fumbled for her own pocket, pulling out the silver ring that was encrusted with emeralds and pink quartz. “You’re always overestimating me, but I got you this time! I’ve had this ready for weeks now, you know! Give me your hand.” She slid the ring onto Byleth’s finger, and quickly removed her glove so that her lover (fiancée?) could do the same to her. 

“It was my mother’s.” Byleth explained. “I’m glad it fits, I was afraid I’d have to get it resized, but I didn’t want to ask for your ring size and accidentally ruin the surprise for you.” 

“It’s beautiful.” Hilda got on her tiptoes so she could kiss Byleth, a chaste press of their lips. “I have one condition, however. I’ve spent way too many years doing what everyone else wanted from me, so from now onwards I only do what I want to do. So, if I want to support you for the rest of our lives, I’ll just go ahead and do that!”

“Seems we have the same condition, then. I… also wish to support you, Hilda. For the rest of our lives.”  
Hilda pressed her face against Byleth’s shoulder, wrapping her arms around the other woman, feeling safe and cherished. It took longer than she had expected, but in the end they did make their vows at the Goddess Tower.

**Author's Note:**

> I adore Hilda, and since today is her birthday I wanted to write something short and sweet for her! At first I just wanted to write the goddess tower scene with f!byleth, but since the proposal takes place there as well, I figured it would be a cute extra. I adapted a lot of the dialogue from these scenes in game, tried to make it a bit more romantic. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading!
> 
> Also a fun fact, I always keep the birthday gift your house gets you in Byleth's inventory, even if it wasn't equipped.


End file.
